Electronic module with shockproof function

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic module with a shockproof function, and more specifically, to an electronic module utilizing a pulling rod, a shock-absorbing pad, and a shock-absorbing structure enveloping a transmission cable for providing a shock-absorbing function and a vibration-isolating function to a removable hard disk drive.

2. Description of the Prior Art

For a small-sized computer or a notebook, there is usually no additional shockproof design applied to a hard disk drive due to its limited inner space. Thus, vibration from its outer environment can be easily transmitted to the hard disk drive through its case. If the hard disk drive works under a normal condition, the hard disk drive can sustain this vibration itself. However, when the hard disk drive works in a particular environment of high vibration (e.g. a bus or a factory), a crash or data damages of the hard disk drive having no additional shockproof design may appear accordingly due to excessive vibration.

As mentioned above, an additional shockproof design for a hard disk drive should be a concern for a small-sized computer or a notebook in its structural design. In the prior art, a conventional shockproof method involves enveloping a hard disk drive with a shock-absorbing structure made of damping material. The disadvantage of this method is that the shock-absorbing effect of the shock-absorbing structure may be lowered if the shock-absorbing structure is not attached to the hard disk drive appropriately. Furthermore, since the shock-absorbing structure of one size can not fit hard disk drives of various sizes, the device compatibility of this method is poor. Besides, this method can only provide a shock-absorbing function to the hard disk drive, meaning that it can not provide a vibration-isolating function. Thus, when the hard disk drive is in a low-frequency vibration environment, the shockproof effect of this method may be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an electronic module with a shockproof function, the electronic module comprising a case having an opening formed thereon; a holding frame disposed at a position of the case corresponding to the opening; a removable disk drive disposed on the holding frame in a manner of being removable from the opening; a transmission cable connected to the removable disk drive; a fixing part disposed on the holding frame; and a shock-absorbing structure movably disposed between the fixing part and the holding frame in a manner of enveloping the transmission cable.

The present invention further provides an electronic module with a shockproof function, the electronic module comprising a case having an opening formed thereon; a movable lid pivotally connected to the case for covering the opening; a holding frame disposed at a position of the case corresponding to the opening; a removable disk drive disposed on the holding frame in a manner of being removable from the opening; and a pulling rod pivotally connected to the removable disk drive for propping against the movable lid when the movable lid covers the opening.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a diagram of an electronic module according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is an internal exploded diagram of the electronic module in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>.

<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a front view of a removable disk drive in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>.

<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is an internal partial diagram of the removable disk drive in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> being installed in a case.

<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a diagram of a shock-absorbing structure in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> being installed between a holding frame and a fixing part.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a diagram of an electronic module <b>10</b> according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is an internal exploded diagram of the electronic module <b>10</b> in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. In this embodiment, the electronic module <b>10</b> is preferably a computer host. As shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, the electronic module <b>10</b> includes a case <b>12</b>, a holding frame <b>14</b>, a removable disk drive <b>16</b>, a transmission cable <b>18</b>, a shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b>, a fixing part <b>22</b>, a shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b>, and a pulling rod <b>26</b>. The case <b>12</b> may preferably be a housing for containing and protecting components (e.g. a motherboard, a power supply, etc.) installed inside a computer host. An opening <b>28</b> is formed on the case <b>12</b>. As shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the electronic module <b>10</b> further includes a movable lid <b>30</b> for covering the opening <b>28</b> so as to prevent dust from entering the electronic module <b>10</b> and provide a burglarproof function to the electronic module <b>10</b>. The holding frame <b>14</b> is disposed at a position of the case <b>12</b> corresponding to the opening <b>28</b>. The holding frame <b>14</b> is used for holding the removable disk drive <b>16</b> so that the removable disk drive <b>16</b> can be disposed on the case <b>12</b> steadily. The removable disk drive <b>16</b> is disposed on the holding frame <b>14</b> and is removable from the opening <b>28</b>. In this embodiment, the removable disk drive <b>16</b> is preferably a removable hard disk drive (i.e. assembly of a removable rack and a conventional hard disk drive). The transmission cable <b>18</b> is connected to the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. The transmission cable <b>18</b> may be a power cable, a cable commonly used for signal and power transmission in a conventional computer host (e.g. an SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) cable), suitable for the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. The shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> is used for enveloping the transmission cable <b>18</b>. The shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> is preferably made of damping material (e.g. rubber material) for absorbing vibration generated during operation of devices inside the electronic module <b>10</b> or transmitted from the outer environment of the electronic module <b>10</b>, so as to protect the removable disk drive <b>16</b> from a crash or data damages caused by excessive vibration.

Next, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, the fixing part <b>22</b> is preferably fixed to the holding frame <b>14</b> by screws <b>23</b> (two shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>). The fixing part <b>22</b> includes at least one guide rod <b>32</b> (two shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>). The guide rod <b>32</b> is disposed through the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> so that the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> can move upward and downward along the guide rod <b>32</b> relative to the holding frame <b>14</b>. The shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> is disposed on the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. In this embodiment, the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> is preferably made of damping material, such as rubber material, for absorbing vibration generated during operation of devices inside the electronic module <b>10</b> or transmitted from the outer environment of the electronic module <b>10</b>, so as to protect the removable disk drive <b>16</b> from damages caused by excessive vibration. The pulling rod <b>26</b> is pivotally connected to the removable disk drive <b>16</b>.

More detailed description for the shockproof design of the electronic module <b>10</b> is provided as follows. First, for the front configuration of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, the electronic module <b>10</b> can utilize disposal of the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> and the pulling rod <b>26</b> to respectively provide a shock-absorbing function and a vibration-isolating function to the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. The related configuration is as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a front view of the removable disk drive <b>16</b> in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is an internal partial diagram of the removable disk drive <b>16</b> in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> being installed in the case <b>12</b>. As shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>, when the movable lid <b>30</b> covers the opening <b>28</b>, the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> abuts against the movable lid <b>30</b> and the pulling rod <b>26</b> props against the movable lid <b>30</b>. That is, when the movable lid <b>30</b> covers the opening <b>28</b>, the pulling rod <b>26</b> is pushed by the movable lid <b>30</b> to rotate upward from a position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> to a position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> so as to prop against the movable lid <b>30</b>, and simultaneously the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> also abuts against the movable lid <b>30</b>.

In other words, for the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b>, when the removable disk drive <b>16</b> is installed on the holding frame <b>14</b> and the movable lid <b>30</b> covers the opening <b>28</b>, the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> disposed on the removable disk drive <b>16</b> can abut against the movable lid <b>30</b> accordingly. In such a manner, the electronic module <b>10</b> can utilize the shock-absorbing property of the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> to absorb vibration generated during operation of devices inside the electronic module <b>10</b> or transmitted from the outer environment of the electronic module <b>10</b>.

On the other hand, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, two ends of the pulling rod <b>26</b> are pivotally connected to two pivot portions <b>34</b> of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, respectively. Thus, when the removable disk drive <b>16</b> is installed on the holding frame <b>14</b> and then the movable lid <b>30</b> covers the opening <b>28</b> of the case <b>12</b>, the pulling rod <b>26</b> can be pushed by the movable lid <b>30</b> to rotate upward relative to the two pivot portions <b>34</b> from the position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> to the position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>. During rotating of the pulling rod <b>26</b>, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, elastic deformation of the pulling rod <b>26</b> may appear since an inclined surface <b>36</b> is formed on the positions of the two pivot portions <b>34</b> corresponding to the pulling rod <b>26</b> respectively. As a result, the pulling rod <b>26</b> can prop against the movable lid <b>30</b> as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> by elastic force generated from its elastic deformation. At this time, the pulling rod <b>26</b> can be regarded as a vibration-isolating spring disposed between the movable lid <b>30</b> and the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, meaning that the electronic module <b>10</b> can utilize disposal of the pulling rod <b>26</b> between the removable disk drive <b>16</b> and the movable lid <b>30</b> to provide a vibration-isolating function to the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. Furthermore, when a user wants to open the movable lid <b>30</b> to remove the removable disk drive <b>16</b> from the opening <b>28</b>, the user just needs to rotate the movable lid <b>30</b> relative to the case <b>12</b> so as to make the movable lid <b>30</b> not cover the opening <b>28</b>. At this time, since the pulling rod <b>26</b> is no longer blocked by the movable lid <b>30</b>, the pulling rod <b>26</b> may automatically rotate from the position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> back to the position as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> by the said elastic force. In such a manner, the user can grasp the pulling rod <b>26</b> conveniently to remove the removable disk drive <b>16</b> from the opening <b>28</b>.

In summary, for the shockproof design at the front end of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, the electronic module <b>10</b> can provide a shock-absorbing function and a vibration-isolating function to the removable disk drive <b>16</b> respectively by disposal of the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> and the pulling rod <b>26</b> between the movable lid <b>30</b> and the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. Thus, a crash or data damages of the removable disk drive <b>16</b> caused by sudden impact or low-frequency vibration generated by the devices inside the electronic module <b>10</b> may be avoided accordingly.

As far as the back configuration of the removable disk drive is concerned, the electronic module <b>10</b> can provide a shock-absorbing function to the removable disk drive <b>16</b> by the shock-absorbing property of the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> and the structural design of the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> being capable of moving upward and downward along the guide rod <b>32</b> relative to the holding frame <b>14</b>. The related configuration may be as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a diagram of the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> being installed between the holding frame <b>14</b> and the fixing part <b>22</b>. As mentioned above, the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> can move upward and downward along the guide rod <b>32</b> relative to the holding frame <b>14</b>. Thus, when the electronic module <b>10</b> receives vibration, the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> can not only absorb vibration transmitted from the guide rod <b>32</b>, but also absorb vibration transmitted from the holding frame <b>14</b> when the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> collides with the holding frame <b>14</b> along the guide rod <b>32</b>. In other words, the electronic module <b>10</b> can utilize the shock-absorbing property of the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> and contact between the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> and the holding frame <b>14</b> to absorb vibration generated during operation of devices inside the electronic module <b>10</b> or transmitted from the outer environment of the electronic module <b>10</b>, so as to provide a shock-absorbing function to the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. In summary, via disposal of the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> and the pulling rod <b>26</b> at the front end of the removable disk drive <b>16</b> and disposal of the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> at the back end of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, the electronic module <b>10</b> can provide the removable disk drive <b>16</b> with a suspension system for absorbing and isolating vibration. That is, when the electronic module <b>10</b> receives vibration or is in a low-frequency vibration state, the electronic module <b>10</b> can utilize the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b>, the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b>, and the pulling rod <b>26</b> to prevent the removable disk drive <b>16</b> from receiving vibration.

Furthermore, since the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> can move upward and downward along the guide rod <b>32</b> as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> relative to the holding frame <b>14</b>, the assembly tolerance between the removable disk drive <b>16</b> and the holding frame <b>14</b> may be increased accordingly. Thus, the assembly process for installing the removable disk drive <b>16</b> on the holding frame <b>14</b> and connecting the removable disk drive <b>16</b> to the transmission cable <b>18</b> can be completed quickly without precise positioning, and time needed for assembling the electronic module <b>10</b> may be therefore reduced.

It should be mentioned that the method for providing the pulling rod <b>26</b> with elastic force to prop against the movable lid <b>30</b> is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the pulling rod <b>26</b> can be pivotally connected to the removable disk drive <b>16</b> by a torsion spring instead, meaning that the present invention may utilize a suitable torsion spring to install on a position where the pulling rod <b>26</b> is connected to the pivot portion <b>34</b> for providing the pulling rod <b>26</b> with elastic force. Furthermore, the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b>, the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b>, and the pulling rod <b>26</b> mentioned in the said embodiment are an optional component in the electronic module <b>10</b>. For example, the electronic module <b>10</b> may only have the shock-absorbing structure <b>20</b> and the fixing part <b>22</b> disposed at the back end of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>, or may only have the pulling rod <b>26</b> or the shock-absorbing pad <b>24</b> disposed at the front end of the removable disk drive <b>16</b>. As a result, the structural design of the electronic module <b>10</b> maybe simplified and its manufacturing cost may be reduced accordingly. As for which configuration is utilized, it may depend on the practical application of the electronic module <b>10</b>.

Compared with the prior art, in which a shock-absorbing structure made of damping material is utilized to envelop a removable disk drive for providing a shock-absorbing function, the present invention involves utilizing disposal of a pulling rod and a shock-absorbing pad at the front end of a removable disk drive and disposal of a shock-absorbing structure at its back end, to provide a shock-absorbing function and a vibration-isolating function to the removable disk drive. In such a manner, even if the removable disk drive is in a low-frequency vibration state, the electronic module provided by the present invention may prevent the removable disk drive from receiving vibration, so that a crash or data damages of the removable disk drive caused by excessive vibration can be avoided. Furthermore, since the structural designs of the pulling rod, the shock-absorbing pad, and the shock-absorbing structure mentioned in the present invention do not need to match with the outer contour of the removable disk drive, the device compatibility of the electronic module may be therefore increased.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.